I've been seeing a lot of commercials for the Debbie Meyer Green Bags lately, and for those of you not in the know, it's a product that purports to lengthen the freshness of produce by up to three weeks. The ads tend to crack me up, if only for the presence of Debbie Meyer, who's reminiscent of a modern day Muriel from Too Close For Comfort.

Unfortunately, the geniuses behind the campaign haven't put the commercial on YouTube (although you can still see it here at the official website), but I have the next best thing: intrepid Pittsburgh reporter Andrew Stockey trying out the green bags with the help of friendly old lady/cucumber enthusiast Karen Ogilvie. The two put the bags through their paces, and the results — well, who really cares about the results? It's all about watching this odd couple interact — from Karen's enthusiasm for putting veggies into the fridge to Andrew's fervor for old salad-munching. I particularly like the final image of Andrew, casually tilted and smiling at the camera as if to say "Well look at my consumer report!" Now that's a news segment I can get behind!

Last June, I brought you images of an R2-D2 cake baked my friend Mark Randazzo (with help from his wife Leslie), and within a few days, the thing had gone viral. Well, now I'm proud to announce that according to Starwars.com — the official Star Wars website of Lucasfilm — Mark and Leslie's cake has been deemed one of the top ten Star Wars things of the year! Yay!

I guess I'll take this time to mention yet again that Mark is a tremendous baker, and if you live in the NYC area, you should definitely, definitely check him out (especially if you're in the hunt for a wedding cake). He's been featured in all sorts of magazines and television shows (Today, Food Network Challenge), and as the R2-D2 cake demonstrates, he's got plenty of talent to spare.

Here's the official website: Mark Joseph Cakes

"You like that, Chris? You like it?"
"MORE! MORE!"

Bromance continues to be a surprisingly hilarious and entertaining hour — a perfect way to kick off Monday night television (at least on the West coast where it airs at 6 PM on Directv, followed by The City and then Gossip Girl. Like omg, best progression evah!). Anyway, this week's episode was pretty much more of the same: silly activities teeming with unbridled homoeroticism. Making things more interesting, however, were the sheer number of tears shed as these guys opened up to Brody, each other, and America. Jered cried when he revealed that he missed his family and friends (it was sweet, but I'm not sure it qualified as soul-baring, as Brody said), Femi cried when asked why he was always the center of conflict, Chris P. cried when he flubbed a one-on-one meeting with the Brodester, and Gary cried when he felt bad for calling Femi fake. Hey, it's perfectly normal for guys to have emotions and petty squabbles, but it doesn't mean it's not funny — especially on this show.

Anyway, after getting wasted at a vodka bar and puking all over a van, a yacht, and a little paper bag, Chris P. was sent off in a little Bro-boat, never to be heard from again. Too bad. He actually seemed like one of the better candidates, but apparently his nerves (and low tolerance) got the best of him. Onwards and upwards, men!

Last but not least in my "Best of 2008" series is film, and for the first time in a while, I feel pretty well informed on the subject. Being that this has been my first awards season as a member of the WGA, I've benefited from copious numbers of screenings and screeners, thus allowing me to see pretty much all the serious contenders. Of course, I do have some gaps in my viewing experience as no foreign flicks and barely any indies wound up on my doorstep; so I've missed out on some acclaimed fare. Oh well.

Nevertheless, I wouldn't say I was particularly blown away by too many movies this year. Many of the much hyped contenders such as Milk and Revolutionary Road failed to speak to me (particularly the latter flick), but there were still several noteworthy films, and hopefully some of the smaller ones will get big time recognition in the next two months as Hollywood begins its annual run of self-congratulatory ceremonies. My favorites of the year after the jump...

2008 was a curious year for television, what with the writers strike and all. Seasons got messed up, late night shows went without comedy, and CBS aired a bonus edition of Big Brother — which sadly was universally loathed by pretty much everyone but me. That's okay though. I don't mind being a maverick when it comes to reality TV (hence my devotion to Greatest American Dog — one of the most underrated gems of the year).

Strike be damned, there was still plenty of great stuff to watch. My list of the best shows after the jump...

When it comes to mashups, there are two ways to look at them: either as a cynical commentary on the generic, interchangeable state of modern music... or as art. I prefer the latter. Along those lines, this video completely blows my mind. It's a mashup of twenty-five songs, all carefully pieced together by DJ Earworm, and here's the shocking part: barring a few fleeting, awkward juxtapositions, it all works remarkably well. Who would have thunk it? Apparently DJ Earworm has been doing these large-scale mashups for a while, but this was the first I'd heard of him (not that I'm Mr. Mashup genius or anything). I'm not sure I'd actually sit and listen to the track on iTunes, but as a viral video, it's insane. I particularly enjoy the T.I. and Chris Brown interludes later in the song. See if you can pick out all the songs. If you need help, I've got a full track list after the jump.

Thanks to IndianJones (and his brother) for the heads up.

Well, it's the new year, which means that it's time to look back at 2008 and make the obligatory Best Of lists. For no particular reason, I'm starting with music, and let me just state that I am not a music connoisseur. My knowledge pretty much encompasses what I hear on the radio plus various offshoots and recommendations from friends, iTunes, and Starbucks. As a result, you won't hear me throwing around names like Ariel Pink or Lykke Li; although, I suppose I just did. Point is, my frame of reference is limited.

That being said, I had a very unscientific method to creating this list. I went onto my iTunes, checked out the songs I downloaded in 2008, and then sorted them by star ranking (five being best). The result: a nicely comprehensive selection of my favorites tunes of the year. Enjoy!

Late last night, I received a curious email. The subject merely stated "herman rosenblat. holocaust hoax book attached." Spam perhaps? However, upon opening the cyber missive, I saw that it wasn't spam. This was an actual "leak" of the controversial manuscript, Angel At The Fence, which was recently killed by publisher Penguin Group after it was revealed that the whole thing was a sham. Well, even though I didn't really care about any of the surrounding hoopla, I was still mighty excited to get my hands on such a hyped document. I mean, there it was: the entire manuscript for my eyes to feast on!

I thought about posting it, but then I realized that that would probably land me in a litigious mess (note the case of the blogger vs. Guns N Roses). Then I thought I could read through the book and post excerpts of the most noteworthy moments, but that would entail actual work, and honestly, I didn't care enough for that. Besides, I knew it wouldn't be long before Gawker would have its own copy and would be doing the same (Sure enough, about two hours later, they posted this). It just leads me to ask one question: who's been leaking this manuscript, and how many bloggers did they send it to? I mean, if I got it, many others must have as well. Granted, I like to consider myself a VERY influential blogger (ahem, "Speidi" coinage), but even so, I wouldn't necessarily think I'm high on the totem pole when it comes to literary scandals. Nevertheless, to whoever it was — whether it be one of the Rosenblats or their agent or publisher or assistant — I'd like to say thank you for legitimizing my blog that much more. Sorry I can't post the PDF, but I just don't feel like getting arrested or sued or waterboarded.

Christmas came late this year as MTV launched two must-see shows Monday night: The City (more on that in another post) and Bromance — the latter show being so awful and full of unbridled homoerotic preening that it just can't be missed. To be honest, I wasn't going to watch much of Bromance. I thought I'd sample the first episode and then move on with my life. After all, there's only so much whining from Brody one person can take (and at an hour a pop, Bromance promised to test my patience). The good news is that given his set of minions to control, Brody is much less of a bitch and can even be, dare I say it, affable. I mean, he's still a douche. But maybe a nice douche? Gosh, what are these words I'm saying? Is it possible I'm developing bromantic feelings for the Jenner spawn?

Probably not. Nevertheless, the premiere episode had many moments of unintentional hilarity — from the way the wannabes gush about Brody as if he's a demigod to the sudsy elimination ceremony which takes place in a hot tub, of all places. I know this show must be taken with a grain of salt, and clearly, there's some winking at the audience by producer Ryan Seacrest (never one to shy away from homoerotic material), but the tub was simply too ridiculous. Even better was how Brody excused all the "safe" dudes from the hot tub, but then after the eliminated douche was sent packing, The Brodester looked at all the other supplicants, now back in their shirts and shorts, and with a warm smile and forthcoming wave, implored them to get back in. Just like that, the shirts were doffed and all the guys hopped eagerly back in the tub where a frenzied orgy of platonic (but not really) man-on-man action went down. Why isn't this show on Bravo?

To the photocap...

Now that Hanukkah is over, I figured it might be best to have a different video atop my blog whilst I enjoy my December break. Please enjoy another classic Lucille Bluth moment above.

An oldie but goodie. Besides, I think Fran captures the Hanukkah spirit best.

Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope you all enjoy the above video which re-imagines Frosty The Snowman as Don Draper.

I won't say that I'm off until after New Years, but I may not be posting regularly. Still feel free to check back though because I most certainly will be posting things here and there, if I'm moved by anything in particular.

Also, today is the one year anniversary of B-Side Blog! Technically, the posts started on December 7th, 2007, but that was the "soft opening" when the site was known as "This Blog Is Mine." Today marks 365 days (er, 366 — leap year) since the blog became officially known as B-Side Blog. Thanks to everyone who's been reading and supporting it. The site's growth has been great, and I only hope to improve it in the year to come. (And while we're talking about the site, if anyone knows anyone who wants to buy a blogad, feel free to send them my way. kthnxbye.)

Be safe and have fun out there!

One of the perks of being in the Writers Guild is that I get to go to all sorts of screenings and events free of charge. Tonight, I have the option of seeing Seven Pounds a full day before its release (!!), but is it worth the effort to trek down to Beverly Hills just for a few hours of bragging rights? After reading A. O. Scott's review in The New York Times, I'm not so sure. Check out this ringing endorsement:

"Frankly, though, I don’t see how any review could really spoil what may be among the most transcendently, eye-poppingly, call-your-friend-ranting-in-the-middle-of-the-night-just-to-go-over-it-one-more-time crazily awful motion pictures ever made."

Ouch.

Check out the rest of A. O. Scott's scathing review here.

Last night's Christmas-themed Top Chef was all sorts of fun. Unfortunately, it kind of peaked after the Quick Fire Challenge with the exit of Martha Stewart as guest judge. Proving to be as austere and unforgiving as ever, Martha was a delight to watch. Dishes she enjoyed were met with warm anecdotes of diving for scallops off the coast of Maine in January. Less successful offerings, however, were met with succinct yet devastating dismissals. "Pungent," she stated coldly to one chef. Ouch. Even worse was the silent scolding she gave to Eugene. "WITH?" she asked terrifyingly, after learning that his broth had been thickened. Who knew one preposition could be so intimidating?

It's a shame Martha couldn't stick around for the rest of the episode, but I guess beggars can't be choosers. Luckily we had Michelle Bernstein back to kick all the chefs' asses at the judging table. In case you don't know who she is, just go down to Borders and pick up her new cookbook, CUISINE A LATINA (said in a suddenly twangy, high-pitched, and exaggerated Latina accent).

Anyway, on to the photocap...

Just under eight weeks ago, as part of a Hills promotional tie-in, I posted a contest imploring people to state their worthiness to win $25 of free Sonic fast food. I really didn't expect much of a response, but I must have vastly overlooked the draw of free food and perhaps underestimated the quality of Sonic (which I still have not tried). Anyway, I received many submissions, and they were all well-written, well-stated, and well-imbued with the sort of sentimental stuff that really pulls the heartstrings.

I had a very difficult time choosing a winner, but alas, the time has come.

The winning entry after the jump...